Sugar, rum supplies safe

RUM drinkers across the nation can sleep easy knowing their drink supply will not be affected by the floods.

“Rest assured the rum is safe and ready to be drunk as soon as we can get it out into the community,” Bundaberg Rum Distillery operations manager Anthony Mortimer said.

Mr Mortimer said despite access to the distillery being cut off, no damage had been done to the bonds or vats at the facility.

The distillery was closed for the Christmas break until January.

“We are actually hoping to open the Bondstore early next week just to give people something to do,” he said.

“With all this water around, the usual activities people do at this time of year are impossible.”

Mr Mortimer said rum supplies for the Christmas and new year period had been shipped out of Bundaberg before the rain began.

The story was almost as positive for the distillery's neighbour, Millaquin Mill.

Mill factory manager David Pickering said they had to stop refining sugar because some pumps had gone under water.

“We have still been able to have some people packing sugar, which had been refined, and been able to get that out into the community,” he said.

But, like most of Bundaberg, the extent of the damage at Millaquin is yet to be determined.

“As the water recedes, we will assess the damage and work out what needs to be fixed,” Mr Pickering said.

“We will probably be at not quite full production by the end of next week.

“We hope to be at full production by the week after.”

Mr Pickering said a meeting was held yesterday to make plans for what would happen while the pumps were out of action.